Now appearing in OSU's Radial Lounge: happy, relaxed patients

The Radial Lounge allows patients to recover safely and in comfort.

Patients found relaxing in the new Radial Lounge at The Ohio State University's Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, in Columbus, after undergoing a progressive new heart catheterization procedure have every reason to be content with their situation.

First, with its comfortable recliners and friendly, quiet atmosphere, the lounge is a desirable place to recuperate. Second, it means they're going home in just a couple of hours instead of several hours later or even the next day, says Quinn Capers IV, M.D., assistant professor of clinical internal medicine and director of peripheral vascular interventions.

Use of transradial catheterization, a relatively new way of performing catheterization for heart patients, combined with the Radial Lounge as a recovery area, have patients sitting up and homeward-bound quickly and with less discomfort, Capers says.

That's opposed to lying down in discomfort for up to eight hours and possibly experiencing an overnight stay at the hospital if the patient develops complications after undergoing a traditional catheterization procedure. "When we do the procedure from the radial artery, it reduces complications by 80 percent," Capers says. "Patient comfort is nice. But what's nicer is reducing these complications, which sometimes can be fatal."

After the procedure, patients are transported in a wheelchair to the Radial Lounge where their IVs are removed. After the transradial procedure, patients can change into their clothes and spend the next two hours or so recovering in a recliner in the company of family.

Capers says not all patients are candidates for radial-first. Nonetheless, patients who undergo the radial-first procedure love its advantages, especially if they've experienced the traditional method before, Capers says. No complaints either, so far, about the patient-friendly Radial Lounge and its cozy recliners.